My first home was in Glenroy. I was taken home from the Royal Women’s Hospital in Carlton to a brand new, sparsly furnished home in Glenroy.
Most of the houses in the surrounding streets were white or pale lemon, double-fronted weatherboard with red tiled roofs.
Our house was different. It was rectangular, blonde brick with a flat tin roof.
We were different from our neighbours but it took a long time for me to realise it!
Dad was self employed but was an artist at heart and so the house was always full of books, many of them art books. Lots of Dad’s artwork adorned the house.
He loved old things so we grew up with antique furniture. Everyone else had laminex tables – we had cane and glass. Most people had subdued wallpaper or cream painted walls. My bedroom was bright orange, one wall had a giant abstract mural. The lounge had the most beautiful burnished gold on one wall and deep brown wood panelling on another.
Family friends were hippies, anti war activists and feminists. Teachers and other professionals. This was unusual for Glenroy. Most men either worked in offices or factories. Women, if they worked, worked part time and generally not in a proffession.
My parents embraced other cultures and the fact the neighbour was Maltese or Polish was as irrelevant as the fact my best friend was born to Italian parents. It just added to the mix.
It also added to the menu. Spagetti was on it at least once a week. But meals were always finished off with a pudding, yum!
When we moved into Glenroy we had no roads, paths or curbing. Most important, no sewerage. We went to a toilet in the back yard. The night soil man called once a week to take away the full can and bring an empty.
We also had (very early on) a baker and milkman deliver. Later we had an eggman, soft drink delivery, and a rabbito. The Bottle-o called about once a month and took away the empties.
Shopping was done in Pascoe Vale Road. It was a fantastic strip of shops, everything you needed.
It wasn’t so bad then, even if we only had one television and one telephone and one toilet between the 5 of us!!
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